So, continuing right after the cliffhanger from last week, our first fight:


Chapter 6 - Kai

The two opponents were still trying to stare each other down. Kai stood in some distance to them between two large trees. He didn't even dare to breath, afraid to miss anything.

At least I have a very good idea who the enemy is..., he thought.

"The king approves of Nab Kai's perception. You already have his identity?", the voice of Archer asked.

Kai panicked. Archer didn't even move his lips and he heard his deep voice more clearly than logically possible.

He is in my head!

"The king just uses the connection between Hem and Nab for communication. It would be advisable not to let our enemy know what we know."

Are you always in my head?, he said instead, fearing the worst.

"The king prefers not to... for your sake... and his own", Archer replied grimly. "His identity, please."

Kai reminded himself of the situation they had found himself in and concentrated on the name he had immediately associated with the knight in front of him.

"Very impressive. Knowing his story even before he used his Noble Phantasm", Archer lauded, causing Kai to think it embarrassing.

Don't make it sound like it's a difficult thing, really. He wears heraldry! That's kind of the point of why he does it. And I could still be wrong. I associate his sigil with the country he is a royal from, but I'm not exactly sure if he is this certain someone.

"Don't undervalue your knowledge, Nab Kai. It is important to be proud of your accomplishments. Your reasoning sounds logical, so stand behind your words with full conviction."

Fine, Kai thought, still a bit unsure about it all. If I'm right, he'll charge you head on.

"The king counts on it!", Archer said to this and Kai imagined that he formed a small smirk.

Then it all happened at once. Kai forced himself not to blink, otherwise he would have missed virtually everything. Saber charged. But not like any human being would charge. He put one foot forward and then immediately disappeared in a red blur. The fraction of a second later, Archer simply disappeared, leaving two sandal-shaped prints in the ground. The very same moment, the red blur that was Saber got engulfed by numerous explosions, throwing dirt and dust into the air. The clouds of whirled up sand were thick and made his eyes water, so Kai had to cover his face with the arm, slowly trying to get a grasp of what had actually happened.

Definitely unlike Pokémon.

Kai lowered his arm and desperately tried to make anything out amidst the clouds which were slowly settle down. He saw the red shape of Saber still standing, and how he lowered his shield, staring off into the distance. He had somehow made a turn of 180 degrees within those seconds and was facing the direction he came from. After a few more seconds Kai was able to make out that the entire path Saber walked upon was dotted with numerous small craters. He then followed the look of Saber and found Archer standing amidst the top of one of the larger trees. He was looking down on his opponent, aiming at him with another arrow made of light.

He must- wow...

He slowly grasped what had happened. Archer must have jumped over the charging Saber, covering him with a continuous stream of arrows and thus causing all this destruction. He was told that Servants were superhumanly fast, but this was just ridiculous.

"So you are of the dodgy type, Archer?", Saber asked him, shaking his head. "But I'm afraid you can't evade my blade forever."

Now it was Sabers turn to jump, trying to get to the pharaoh above him like a red bullet train. Kai could have sworn he heard a bang after the knight pushed himself from the ground, signaling him having overcome the sound barrier. Archer kept calm, firing a volley at his moving opponent, which exploded on Sabers raised shield, seemingly unable to slow him down. Shortly before Saber reached him, Archer disappeared again and this time Kai heard the bang for sure. Reappearing on a tree several meters apart, he let loose another volley which was countered again by Sabers shield. But this time the knight seemed to struggle a bit more since he was busy crashing into the tree feet forward and pushing himself off it to follow Archer. The tree itself, despite being a sturdy looking oak, creaked and cracked and wavered so much Kai was afraid it would get uprooted.

This is insane.

Kai watched in awe how Saber dashed forward, hacking with his sword after the golden pharaoh who quickly evaded every charge, letting loose his explosive energy arrows while he was at it. But strikes of the crimson knight were not completely ineffective. Every single slash was so powerful, it caused a razor-sharp gust of wind to cut through branches and trunks alike and sending them crashing down to the ground even if Saber was not quite close enough to use his sword directly.

Is he... is he trying to clear the wood?

Archers Master was not quite able to finish his thoughts since the two combatants passed over his head and moved towards the position where Sabrina stood. She jumped to the side and barely escaped a fairly heavy branch which could have crushed her head. Kai ran up to her, trying to look helpful, but she was already on her feet when he reached her.

"Let's get out of here", he just said.

"Sure thing", she nodded and followed him back onto the sports field where the risk of ending as collateral damage seemed a bit lower for them.

They turned around and watched how the two Servants continued their chase without even bothering for them.

"I wonder what the people will think after they find what Saber leaves of the forest", Kai thought loudly.

"Well... they can probably blame a storm or anything", Sabrina shrugged.

He looked at her incredulously.

"There is not even a small gust and it's the middle of summer."

"They will just explain it somehow...", she replied.

Kai turned back to the battlefield where one oak was just split into halves the fraction of a second after the golden shimmer of Archers armor disappeared from its top. The red knight continued his hunt, effortlessly shrugging off every single attack of the bowman. And somehow Kai had the feeling that with each strike, he came a tiny bit closer to the elusive Egyptian.

The moment he thought that, a hellish impact was audible. Archer crashed to the ground, his feet leaving two deep trails in the ground while he was sliding backwards, struggling to keep balance. And Saber was on him the next second, his sword singing when gliding through the air. It all happened at once, but for Kai it seemed as if the time was standing still.

"Archer!", he gasped.

A golden flash and a muffled sound of steel hitting something soft later Saber and Archer were locked in a still life, suddenly lacking every movement. Blood dripped onto the ground. But Sabers sword was lowered, seemingly having missed Archer. No, Kai immediately realized that his Servant was not holding his bow anymore, but a simple rectangular shield which looked like nothing more than a wooden frame covered by a black and white leather hide. He had blocked Sabers blow with it. Somehow. Kai was not really sure how so simple a shield could block a steel sword, at least until he realized that the answer was most likely 'magic'. And the shield was not the only piece of equipment he had summoned. His right hand had a firm grip around the hilt of a short, weirdly shaped bronze sickle sword. And its blade was locked in the flesh of Sabers right shoulder. He had not wounded him deeply, only having broken a small number of the steel rings which made up Sabers chainmail. But it was deep enough to draw blood.

Saber didn't need long to react to it. He forced his shield up, knocking the sword out of his moment and the very moment Archer drew it back, Saber tackled him shield forward with all his strength. And he was awfully strong. He sent the pharaoh flying straight across the sports field and he landed rather roughly in the small wooden shed the school used to store the iron balls for the shot put and other equipment for outdoor activities. He broke the door and a good chunk of the front walls, having crushed enough of its structural integrity to make the roof falling down on him like some oversized cardboard house. Kai knew he should worry about his Servant but the first thought crossing his mind was:

"The school needs a new shed..."

"It's not like we're going to miss it that much", Sabrina replied, a nervous smile on her face.

She obviously tried to look as if it didn't bother her much, but Kai assumed she thought as much as he that the fighting was going to get out of hand. It was quite surprising just how much damage they caused in these few minutes they were at each others throats. Saber meanwhile slowly walked towards the sorry remains of the sheds, checking his gaping flesh wound with a frown. If it caused him much pain, he wasn't showing it. He was waiting patiently how Archer freed himself from the wooden debris he was buried in and came to his feet. He had still his own sickle-sword and leather shield instead of his bow.

"Now this is a very curious trick you pulled off there, mischievous Archer", he announced. "I really expected you'd stick to your bow. Or is this sword your Noble Phantasm instead?"

Archer looked at the weapon with its iconic bend blade. For some reason he seemed a little bit surprised or at least curious about it.

"A kopesh? The king's grandfather might have used this weapon, but it was outdated at the time of the king..."

Saber gave an amused snort.

"You didn't know this weapon would get summoned?"

Archer looked up, slowly returning to his usual placid expression.

"Weapons are tools, let them be Noble Phantasms or not. A warrior as formidable as you are should know that. And there is a tool for every situation. The king only called for a sword. That this weapon was connected to his legend is a little bit surprising to him. It seems as if the people of the modern age think he went into battle with it."

"Well, I can't agree more about the part with the tools and the situations. I take it then that this is an ordinary conceptual weapon created by the grail?", Saber tilted his head. "I already expected such a trick to be possible in the same way we can weave our armor from mana, but I never thought to try it with a weapon. I thought we are stuck with our class?"

"So it seems. The vessel of the souls for the king and his opponent were designed for a single purpose and a single specialization. Fortunately for the king, he possess the skill of the Imperial Privilege, allowing him to call upon the skills he honed in life. Unfortunately for you, the king was educated in the usage of a wide variety of weapons."

Kai's heart sacked a bit down when the tense situation suddenly came to halt through the coarse laughter of the crimson knight.

"I can't believe it. So early in the Grail War and you are already abusing the rules", he raised his sword again, the Celtic runes shimmering in the sun. "I like it! A bowman thinking himself worthy to cross swords with a knight! I don't mind. I don't mind at all. I looked forward to cross swords with heroes from across time and space, so it would be a shame for me being the only one having a sword. Come, Archer, show me your true color!"

Saber darted forward and this time, Archer didn't retreated. He awaited him. Kai found it worrisome. They weren't in the forest anymore, but he wasn't worrying about them getting seen by someone from the school, he was worrying about the tactical disadvantage. In the now cropped little forest Archer was able to evade Saber and let him exhaust himself by maneuvering through the trees. He had the advantage of the terrain. It didn't took Kai long to realize that Archer was faster while Saber was physically stronger, so it was only a matter of keeping distance between them and grind him down. But Kai was unable to explain what Archer was now thinking by allowing himself to get into a battle on even ground. Especially with equipment seemingly inferior to Saber's sword and shield. The weird looking longsword had far more reach than his kopesh even if you were ignoring the differences in material.

Does he try to get killed?

Surprisingly he didn't. At least not with only the first strikes Saber aimed at him. He evaded with his usual lightning speed, but not by keeping his distance, instead he chose to get even closer, circling around the knight with the lion motifs and testing his defense by slashing at him here and there. Saber always blocked him with his shield, but now Kai was able to see just how unnerved he got at Archer for it. He was hurling his sword in an arc and began to take steps backwards, just to keep his opponent in front of him. The pharaoh continued his onslaught, driving Saber across the Tartan track and the grassy hills at its side. With each step and each strike the ground under their feet gave way and created visible cracks and furrows. Saber fought back fiercely, hacking at him and if not for pharaohs elusiveness, he would have struck him down numerous times. Whenever Archer was not able to evade a blow and had to block it with his shield, he was thrown back nearly a meter, sliding roughly across the ground. Saber then tried to pursue him with a quick series of stabs and strikes, but Archer quickly returned to his usual game. After the third time of this, Archer retreated close to the tall metal fencing which was encircling their small football field. He dodged one of Sabers blows there, but the fencing was not able to withstand that. The metal shattered, the rest bend and broke. A big part of the wall came down on the empty football field with quite a lot of clatter.

"Ouch...", Kai exclaimed, wincing.

Saber managed to get some distance between himself and Archer, pointing with his sword at him. Despite all this, neither of the two was even breathing heavily.

"Do you smell it, Archer? This is the stuff legends are made of. It is the age of myths come again!", Saber declared proudly. "Dueling like this, boosted with the supernatural... King Arthur and his knights must have felt the same sense of wonder when they were questing for the grail."

"Battle is no source of amusement for the king. It is just a means to an end", Archer replied darkly.

"Oh, you should at least pretend you have fun here! It's a chance you only get once", Saber made a face.

"The king has heard from Nab Kai that you were a ruler as well. He starts to doubt it."

Sabers eyes narrowed and his smile faltered.

"Your master has the right of it, your opponent was once a king as well as a knight. But what makes you doubt the words of his?"

"The king only realized that you enjoy fighting for the sake of fighting, son of Sekhmet. But a true ruler weighs the lives of his people and the gains of victory before he decides to go to war, emotions do not play any role in it. In this grail war, your own life and the one of your Master are the only ones to consider, but the king pities your people if you guided your path in life by the same principles."

"You pity them, Archer?", Saber asked back, exasperated. "You don't even know them and me und you think you can judge us? I can only tell you that I am a knight before I am king. I lived by those principles and died by them. My people revered me for it and called me a hero, so it seems they liked what they saw in me. Who are you to pity them?"

"The king too was admired for his victories and yes, he let his people know how mighty he was in battle. But he never took joy in killing. And the king knows it to be wrong to drag his people into a battle which didn't need to be fought."

"I... I think I see your point, Archer", Saber said hesitatingly. "I'm not exactly sure why it grates you so much, though... of course I never campaigned without a cause... Like legendary King Arthur quested for the grail to save Britain, I volunteered to be a champion for the whole Christendom. It was something larger than my people."

"The king does not care for the excuses you used in your past, son of Sekhmet", Archer said amused. "He only sees you now, swinging your sword in ecstasy. Do you have a cause now?"

Saber lowered his sword and tilted his head in confusion.

"Of course I have! And so do you, worthy opponent. But there is no reason to exchange them. Our fates are predestined, our second lives only permitted to exist to obtain the grail. All we can do is comparing our skills with the blade... to see whose cause is favored more by god."

Saber charged again, slower this time. Kai had a feeling that whatever Archer had tried by allowing their discussion had failed. If he wanted to make the knight angry to exploit a temper, it had caused the opposite. Sabers movements spoke of suspicion. He guided his blade through the air with far more precision than before while maintaining the same care about his defense as before. Archer seemed less jumpy, too, even though he still preferred to evade his blade than to block it with his shield. Then it happened all at once again. Archer was seemingly too close to Sabers right side and the knight knocked at him with his shield, following the first strike with a charge, pushing Archer backwards. Archer had problems keeping the balance, but a swift kick with his armored boots later, Saber had managed to overwhelm the pharaoh and had him onto the ground. The knight, standing over him, didn't hesitate for a second. The runic blade was singing again when he guided it downwards. But Archer was faster again. He pulled up his shield. The longsword grazed it and buried itself into the ground, causing a massive shockwave to burst it asunder. Simultaneously, Archer from his low position was able stab with his short sword under the shield of his opponent, causing a second wound at his hip.

"Ugh...", Saber groaned and now struck at his opponent with the sharpened lower edge of his shield, only for Archer to roll to the side.

The knight didn't follow him, but instead retreated a few meters away, watching how he got up. Either because it was not chivalrous to kick after a fallen enemy or because he was not eager to get stabbed at again from that angle, Kai assumed.

"I thought the first slash was just luck, but now a second time...", Saber gave a bitter laugh. "You might not have the right attitude towards our duel, but whoever trained you sure did an excellent job. I've never seen anyone fighting like this."

"The king was just trained to survive... but he is sure that his masters approve of your praise, son of Sekhmet."

Amenemhet..., Kai thought immediately, the picture of the boy and his trainer appearing in front of his eyes.

"Well enough...", Saber grimaced. "It vexes me to admit it, but I thought, our duel would be short and one-sided even with conventional means. I beg your pardon for having underestimated you. I just hoped to conserve energy for my fight against Lancer and Rider."

What is he trying to imply?

Archer must have felt the same unease at those words. He tensed and put his shield forward, getting ready for whatever Saber was planning. But Saber didn't charge immediately. He saluted him instead again with his sword.

"If I continue to fight half-heartedly, I might overexert myself before having met the other great heroes summoned into this age. This wouldn't do. For I am Saber, the mightiest champion of the three knight-classes! And now, Archer, I will give you the honor to witness my true might."

Kai gasped. The runes on the knight's longsword began to glow brightly in an otherworldly golden color. He thought he knew what this meant.

His Noble Phantasm... Archer, he is going to use his Noble Phantasm!

Saber swung his sword in an arc, the glow leaving a soft trail of golden light in the air. He then stepped towards Archer, his shield with the three golden lions held forward. Archer awaited him, scanning his whole surrounding with a suspicious look on his face. Whatever was going to happen, he seemed ready to face it. Saber however didn't seem to be ready to unleash it with only his first strike. Archer evaded the golden sword, this time without a counterattack, but Saber never gave him the time for it anyway. He pushed forward with his shield and hacked at him simultaneously, driving him across the horribly furrowed remains of the Tartan track. With each strike, the glow of the runes became brighter until not only them, but the whole blade emitted a blinding light. Kai had trouble following the battle with his eyes beginning to hurt from just looking at it. He blinked when he heard a horrible cracking sound. When he opened the eyes again, the golden longsword had buried itself deeply into the wooden frame of Archers shield. Its pointy tip was only centimeters away from his face.

And then Saber shouted it. The name went through Kai's spine and made him shiver. It was just a word echoing through the air, but its meaning and Sabers fierce devotion to it, gave it enormous power.

"Excalibur!"

A blinding beam of light was emitted from the sword and swallowed both Archer and Saber. From the sword hilt onward, it created a dazzling and terrifying trail of destruction, cutting through the ground and further. Much to Kai's horror, it found its way directly to the main school building, slicing a thin line into its concrete walls which went from the roof three floors right down to the floor. When the golden light subsided, Archer was nowhere to see. Only Saber stood there, Excalibur still stuck deeply in the shield.

"No way!", Kai called out, completely aghast, while Saber was silently freeing his weapon, a sombre expression on his face.

It's not possible, he can't...

Sabrina next to him was grinning, victory shining in her eyes. At least until Saber suddenly whirled around, focused on the roof of the gymnasium nearby. Kai followed his eyes and now it was his turn to grin. There he stood. His bow raised, silently aiming with a massive arrow of light which glowed as bright as the sun, just screaming 'powerful'.

He evaded!, Kai almost called out in his relief.

Archer let loose. It was as if the whole world kept its breath. Well, the whole world except Saber. His reaction was rather simple.

"Merde!", he yelled, putting his shield between himself and the projectile.

He was hit and the arrow unleashed its power in a flaming explosion. After this one subsided, Saber stood in front of a small crater, his own legs had dug themselves deeply into the ground from the recoil, but otherwise he seemed fine. A little singed, but fine. With Archer having returned to the high ground and Saber slowly emerging from the smouldering remains of what was once a perfectly fine sports field, the situation had returned enough to the status quo so that Kai allowed himself to take a breath and make sense of what he saw.

"There is no way this is Excalibur!", he found himself calling out.

Saber turned a bit to him, without lowering his defence towards Archer.

"How should you know, boy?"

"Well, you certainly aren't King Arthur, are you?", Kai said, madly.

Everything he witnessed here was absolutely insane, but he wouldn't be able to do his job if Saber was lying about his Noble Phantasm. And his exasperated reaction seemed to have taken a bit tension out of the situation. Even Sabrina smiled again.

"Maybe he is", she interjected, cocking her head. "How could you deny it?"

"First of all, he wears heraldry!", Kai began. "King Arthur wouldn't wear heraldry. My second point is that King Arthur likely doesn't even exist. He is a composite character made up of three different people and a bunch of later novels. And since your knight neither looks Roman nor Celtic nor anything in between, he is unlikely to be any of them."

Sabrina shrugged and Saber laughed out loud.

"As it seems, petite lionne, he got me there. No, I'm not King Arthur."

"Then way do you have his sword?", he asked, shaking his head. "I thought those Noble Phantasms are supposed to be connected to your own myth."

"Oh, it is. It is my sword and it is connected to the me who made his mark in history", the knight proudly explained. "Having spread the tale of having retrieved the original Excalibur seems to have been one of my finer notions all things considered. But don't worry, I'm honored by the Throne of Heroes granting me a fraction of its power and treat it with the respect the blade and its original wielder deserve. And it's not like the man is around to complain, is he?"

Kai sighed, while Saber faced Archer again. Then, without any further delay, Saber darted forward, dashing across the football field in a zigzag as to avoid the magical arrows raining down on him. Having arrived in front of the building he jumped upward, only for Archer to disappear again. This time, Saber was faster. He must have used the wall of the building to change his direction mid-fly, but he did and he seemingly crashed into the moving Archer, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Kai and Sabrina ran up to them, but before they reached the crater they landed in, Saber was already afoot, kicking Archer away. Much to Kai's continued horror, Archer flew straight into the side of the main school building. Through the wall even, leaving only a cloud of dust and a gaping hole.

"No!", Kai called out. "Stop it!"

Sabrina said nothing, but Saber seemed as if he would have ignored her anyway. He followed Archer into the building and the next things they heard were terrible noises of destruction.

"We must end it, it went far enough", he said, looking pleadingly to Sabrina. "Come on, this here is one thing, but we can't allow them to thrash the school!"

She just stared at the mayhem in shock.

"You are probably right, it would be a pain to explain so much", Sabrina then said, nodding.

They went after them, through the backdoor.

Archer, where are you?

"The king cannot give you a good direction, he and his opponent passed several classrooms."

Oh, that's just great... Just stop it! Both of you! The school is not a battlefield!

"The son of Sekhmet doesn't seem so eager to stop the hostilities."

At least they didn't need a direction. The audible clatter was compass enough to find them. When they entered the wing of the school which was their battlefield, they found a sight of destruction. Walls were torn apart, doors were cut and windows and furniture alike were shattered to pieces. With some of the supportive elements being destroyed, some parts of the upper floor had come down in a mess of destroyed ceiling and broken chairs and tables. Shortly thereafter, the fire alarm began to ring.

"Fuck", Kai just exclaimed. "The principal is going to kill us."

He and Sabrina heard a clatter in the classroom next to them. When they opened the splintered remains of the door, they found the two Servants staring at each other amidst the carnage they caused. This time, both were heavily beaten up. Saber got a multitude of more cuts, but this time he seemed to have struck Archer. He had a gaping flesh wound on his leg and on his thigh.

The school... Saber must have consciously lured Archer here to rid him of the room he needs to evade.

"Kai! Sanu-bri!", a woman's voice called out.

Both Masters turned around and saw one of the teachers for theatre lessons emerge from a corridor, a cluster of horrified students in their wake.

"What are you just standing there! The school collapses!", she said with terror in her voice.

The theatre course! Oh no, they were still here on so late a hour...

Both he and Sabrina looked at their Servants before anyone got closer.

"Disappear!", they both hissed.

The two warriors looked startled, Archer with his usual frown and Saber openly annoyed, but they obeyed and took on spirit form. As if on cue, the ceiling came down the very next second, burying both ghosts in a plethora of rubble.

They decided to join the evacuating students, pretending to look properly shocked about everything. They learned how the theatre course was doing his usual routine in the assembly hall when they heard the noise of collapsing concrete walls. They never saw any of the two fighters and assumed an earthquake or a weakness of the structure of the building. In any case, the didn't loose any time to push the fire alarm and escape. It took some time and a few well placed lies before the two Masters were able to excuse themselves after the ambulance and the fire brigade appeared.

"At least nobody was hurt...", Sabrina said sullenly while they walked away.

"It doesn't matter, they wrecked the school!", Kai complained, barely able to stop himself from shouting.

"I know... I know, but we can't undo what happened, can we?", Sabrina said, grimacing. "We can only think about what to do now."

"You don't want to say you want to continue the battle after all this? They wrecked the school!", Kai honestly thought he had a good point with this.

"Sshh! Calm yourself, what should the people think?", she hissed at him.

Kai looked around. The streets near the school began to fill themselves with people. Most of them were alarmed by the sirens of the fire department cars which parked so close to their houses.

"Okay, what now?", Kai replied, trying to ignore his confusion about everything.

"I live pretty close nearby. Let's just move our discussion about the next steps there", Sabrina declared. "We can't just parting ways not knowing what to do if we meet the next time. Or are you too afraid to follow an invitation from an enemy?"

"Mmh... What's with your parents? Are they into this Grail War thing?"

"No and they won't disturb us. They are abroad, travelling with my older sister."

"Well, it's better than pretending nothing happened, is it?", he shrugged.

So it was decided. Sabrina guided him through several streets until they stood in front of a lonely mansion at the edge of the forest. All the other houses surrounding it looked as if they kept their distance to its property. Kai, having slightly settled down from the sudden turn of events, couldn't help but compare it to his own house.

"That's nearly a little villa", he said with raised eyebrows.

"It's nothing so impressive, really. It's just something my parents inherited."

She led him in and indeed despite its dark outward appearance with the red brick-walls covered in vines, it just looked like any other house from the inside, if only a bit more spacious. She led him straight to the living room which consisted of two leather couches around a table, a TV and a separated part with a wooden dinner table. Sabrina offered him one of the couches and let herself fall down onto the other one after he took a seat.

"So what now?", Kai said unsure.

"The fight was interrupted and therefore inconclusively", Archer said, reappearing in corporeal form sitting next to Kai.

"According to the rules of the Grail War, we have no choice but to continue where we left off", Saber exclaimed, having seated himself next to his Master.

Kai just had to realize their wounds and the damage on their armor had completely disappeared.

"You guys wrecked the school!", he complained again, just in case they hadn't listened the first time.

"It was an unpleasant collateral damage, but you two chose the location", Saber said with a shrug.

Sabrina gave him an incredulous look:

"You want to blame us now? Really? You could have at least warned us that you two can cause so much destruction."

"The king did... and so did Saber...", Archer said with a frown.

"Just give us a more appropriate battlefield and we will settle it", Saber announced.

"No! No, you just can't...", Kai repeated, miserably.

"The battle has to take place", Archer told him.

It was not good. Both Servants wanted to continue their mayhem and Sabrina still looked unsure. He somehow had to even the odds. He looked at Sabrina, trying to get her help.

"I take it from your reaction that you are not a wizard."

"Of course not", Sabrina replied. "What has it to do with anything?"

"It maybe has... Archer told me that usually only mages participate in such a Grail War. I'm no mage either. So my question is: Who is?"

"What are you going to imply?"

"The guys from the castle... the Einzberns. They are wizards, according to Archer."

"What?", she reacted confused.

Saber never told her.

"He is right", Saber grumbled. "They are founding members of the ritual which was used to summon us."

"I just met Archer yesterday and everything is a little bit fuzzy right now", Kai continued. "But as I see it, you and I are sitting in the same boat. We are dragged into some fight which never was ours. Starting it by bashing each others heads in might have been a mistake."

"The wolves...", Sabrina suddenly called out.

"Huh?"

"When I met Saber... it was two days ago", she suddenly began to tell, as if remembering something very important. "I was jogging through the forest and was suddenly attacked by some beasts. No ordinary wolves, really. They were unusually large and black and shaggy... I thought I was finished until Saber jumped into the fray like some shining knight from the stories he likes so much", she looked at Kai with wide eyes. "Whoever sent those monsters, he must be responsible for everything."

"Let's call a truce then. Until we meet more of the other Masters and know how to deal with them, we should refrain from attacking each other."

Archer looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"The king would have liked to see it to an end today, but he also sees your reasoning. The king agrees."

Saber however crossed his arms.

"I hate to leave business unfinished..."

"You said you wanted to meet and fight the other Heroic Spirits. Well, we won't stop you. In fact, if one of us faces a prepared Master, one who joined this Grail War on purpose, we should team up."

"An alliance, you say...", Archer mused with open interest.

"Maybe not so bad an idea, it increases the odds in our favour... but...", she seemed unsure.

"What is it?", Kai demanded softly.

"I'm just thinking about possible outcomes. What if we two are the only ones allying themselves. And what if our alliance succeeds... It would be just the two of us then."

"Then Archer and Saber can have their way and duke it out. I think it wouldn't hurt so much if either of us wins. At least we don't drag pupils into bloody deathmatches."

He watched how she was squirming at the prospect of it.

She is afraid Saber could loose., Kai suddenly realized. I can't blame her. It looked pretty well for Archer until he was caught inside the building. And judging by the amount of Saber-shaped holes in the school...

"You think it would just increase his odds, does it?", Saber grumbled. "Don't worry, petite lionne. The next time I will be better prepared."

"The king as well", Archer said with his usual placid expression.

"So everyone agrees?", Kai announced happily, watching how Sabrina sacked down into the couch.

"Yeah, it doesn't sound so bad, really."

"There is only a small, formal detail remaining", Archer interjected, standing up. "For it to be a proper alliance, you have to make its wording very clear."

Oh boy...

"With this alliance, the two Servants Archer and Saber and the two Masters, Kai Reymeyer and Sanu-bri Falk, agree to cease all hostilities and to not raise any arms against each other. It is also forbidden to cause harm to an ally through any indirect means like supporting an enemy or deliberate negligence. The allies are to support one another in battle against the other teams in the Holy Grail War"

He paused, awaiting an answer from anyone who listened. Most shrugged or nodded. It was enough of an agreement for him.

"The alliance ends with the defeat and death of all five other Servants. After a remaining term of twenty-four hours after the death of the last other participant, hostilities can be resumed."

Kai agreed immediately. Saber nodded shortly thereafter, despite being slightly suspicious about why he made such a fuss about it. Only Sabrina remained unsure.

"Come on", Kai urged her. "We'll just clear the field beforehand, so there won't be any dark surprises."

"Only if Saber is completely sure", she looked at him, but the knight just grinned at her.

"Don't make such a face, petite lionne. It doesn't fit you. I can handle the likes of him any time."

"If you say so... then I agree."

Archer bowed approvingly.

"Then it is settled", he raised his hands to the sky as if in prayer. "Hotep en Netscher - Divine Peace!"

A sudden flash of light illuminated the living room. Saber jumped up immediately, his hand reaching after the pommel of his sword. But for some reason, he seemed pained and physically unable to draw Excalibur.

"What is this for mad sorcery?", he demanded, grinding his teeth in frustration.

A single scroll of paper, which curiously looked as if it consisted of numerous thin stripes glued together, had appeared where Archer had held his hands. He had used a Noble Phantasm. Right there. But much to Kai's amazement, it was neither a flashy sword, nor any other kind of weapon. It was an unrolled papyrus scroll, slowly floating down onto the table. Kai was able to see three different texts on it in three different languages. The first one was made of hieroglyphs, completely indecipherable for him. The second one was in something that looked like French, but wasn't quite French yet. He recognized the syntax and many of the words, but they were written vastly different than the French he learned in school. The third one was in German and it contained exactly the terms Archer had announced before.

"It is just a document to give more power to our alliance. The king is fortunate enough to have been one of the two signers of the oldest surviving peace treaty in history. It had enough impact upon the view of him that it became a Noble Phantasm he shares with the mighty Hattusili, may his name be blessed."

"You tricked us", Saber growled. "I can't even draw my sword anymore!"

"Only because you want to draw it with the intend of raising it against the king. The contract is in effect. You gave you approval to it", he turned to Sabrina, since she was not fuming with anger. "You may check it, Nab Sabrina. This Noble Phantasm only works with the consent of all affected parties. Of course it is also not allowed to add passages not included in the wording they gave consent to. It would cease to work if the king tried."

"And we just have to believe you this?", Saber groaned, while his Master grabbed the papyrus and read the German part.

She then gave it two Saber, who read the part in old French with a deep frown.

"Well, seems to be what you said...", he grumbled. "But still... I gave you my word as a knight to respect our alliance. You must doubt my honor if you prefer some scribbles and sorcery. I can't stand it."

"It was not the king's intention to stain the honor of his ally. Hotep en Netscher doesn't just enforce its contents upon the contractors, it strengthens both parties with the scroll generating mana by extracting it from its surroundings, equally supporting the king and his ally. After we used up some of our reserves in our inconclusive battle, it seemed to the king like a good idea to use it to replenish them."

Saber paused, staring at the paper as if what he said was just written on there.

"You are right, it boosts my regeneration. But... what if I just shred this sheet of papyrus to pieces? You have not added any clause to stop me from this."

"If the document is destroyed, the mana support ends, but the contract never ceases to bind until its final clause has been fulfilled. The king and the son of Sekhmet cannot attack each other anymore until every other participant in this Grail War has been defeated."

The knight stared into the distance, carefully putting the scroll back onto the table.

"You said it represents an alliance you made in life...", Saber said slowly.

"Between the king and the blessed king Hattusili III. of the Hittite Empire. It survived both of us, our children and even his own kingdom. The king regards it as still in effect, even after three thousand years", Archer proclaimed proudly.

"Three thousand years...", Saber echoed absentmindedly, before facing him with a serious expression. "So what if this Hattusili guy has been summoned into this age? Would you fight him?"

"The king honors the pacts he makes. Of course he would obey it, even if it meant his own death and forfeiting the grail."

Saber nodded, seemingly understanding.

"I see... and I think I can live with it. Yes, you might predate chivalry, but your sense of honor seems right", he began to grin. "You should have warned us before firing a Noble Phantasm, but your intention was rightful as well."

"Really?", Sabrina interjected doubtful. "It might have just reinforced our alliance, but it still reeks like trap to me."

"Petite lionne... It is wise of you to distrust a potential enemy, fearing the worst. But I had given my word before and would have been honor-bound to respect it. He just showed me he would have done the same, so our alliance was sealed even before he used his Noble Phantasm. This scrap of paper is just a little gimmick to write it down upon."

Kai shook his head.

"No, it's not. It is far more and absolutely perfect. I'm really liking this Noble Phantasm", he said, smiling widely.

"Why that?"

"Saber... up until now you seemed to think Noble Phantasms only have offensive purposes, that's why you wanted to draw your sword?"

"Well yes... most of them are weapons or abilities honed on a battlefield, so it seemed right for me to assume", the knight admitted sheepishly.

"Yes... most of them are meant to destroy. But Archer here has something far more powerful: A Noble Phantasm powered by cooperation! If we were still in conflict, it would be absolutely useless, but right here and now, recovering from the wounds you both took back at the school... it is our alliances' chance to prevail!"


Author's Notes: Okay, this chapter was all kinds of weird. At first I planned to end it exactly here with the alliance. But then, I thought to make them part only with a fragile truce and move the alliance to a later chapter if they really needed it. It would have ended then with Archer getting angry at Kai for not taking the Grail War serious enough. But somehow Kai decided to make the move right here and I as the author had to comply. I had also imagined to let Kai and Saber talk about the last one's identity, confirming the suspicions he had at the beginning of it, allowing me to publish Sabers character sheet here.

On the other hand... Who here has still any doubts about his identity? I mean... he wears heraldry!

I also imagine there will be angry people for Excalibur being his Noble Phantasm and yes, I know there can only be one Excalibur. But after I searched for the name of his sword and found that he called it indeed Excalibur, I couldn't help but include it as a callback to Arthuria. Of course it is a vastly inferior sword only linked to his legend and not to Arthurs, making it a C-ranked Noble Phantasm which just incidentally has the same name and the same purpose as the original.